Autism FAQ - Coping

Where Autistic People generally live

In general, autistic people have the same living options
as people with other disabilities, which ideally are matched
with the individual's capabilities.

Children:
While there were times in the past when autistic children
would likely be located at an institution, today they
almost invariably reside with their parents.

Respite:
Families caring of a disabled person can be tied down
to a much greater extent than than other families.
Autistic children are individuals and the amount of supervision
autistic children require varies, but in general,
there is an extra burden on the parents which in many
cases is severe.
Providing the care and supervision can possibly
require as much effort as would an additional full time job.

Respite service is typically provided by government
agencies to give such families an occasional break from the
responsibilities.
It may consist of providing someone to look after the
child for a few hours, or it may be a group home
(see below) set up to take the child for a weekend
on occasion.

Adults:
Autistic adults unable to cope with their own residence
also were likely to live in an institution
such as a state-run facility.
Alternatively, they might live with relatives.

In place of institutions, now group homes
and assisted living are more generally used.
A group home might have 4 permanent residents, with two
staff members for most of the waking hours and 1 staff member while
the residents sleep.

Assisted living is for autistic people able to cope under
less supervision than a group home provides.
The exact situation would be tailored to the individuals, but
an example would be two autistic people sharing an apartment,
visited by a representative of social services daily.

Those families who take care of adult autistic family
members might make use of respite services (see above).

Other aids to living and communication

For basic communication, nonverbal autistic people
are sometimes taught sign language, or to use communication
boards or electronic communication devices such as the
Cannon Communicator.
The latter is similar to a Brother labelmaker, being
an electronic device designed to allow the disabled who
can type to communicate during daily life.

Facilitated Communication (see under
"Educational Methods")
can be used in conjunction with a Canon Communicator or
communication board, but in other cases,
the individual may be able to point or type independently.

The Internet has been a boon to some autistic people,
opening avenues of communication that are more suited to
their abilities than face-to-face communication.

Social Signal Dogs
are rarely used but have been discussed on the list.
It is a working dog, similar to a seeing eye dog that assists
an autistic person in their daily life.